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The Usarp Mountains are a major
Antarctic mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
, lying west of the
Rennick Glacier
Rennick Glacier is broad glacier, nearly long, which is one of the largest in Antarctica. It rises on the polar plateau westward of Mesa Range and is wide, narrowing to near the coast. It takes its name from Rennick Bay where the glacier reache ...
and trending north to south for about . The feature is bounded to the north by
Pryor Glacier and the
Wilson Hills.
These mountains were discovered and first photographed from aircraft of the U.S. Navy
Operation Highjump in 1946. They were first sighted and entered by the U.S. Victoria Land Traverse 1959-1960 (VLT), and the first ascent of
Mount Welcome was made by John G. Weihaupt, Alfred Stuart, Claude Lorius, and Arnold Heine of that traverse team. The mountains were completely mapped by the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
from VLT reports, U.S. Navy air photos from 1960–63, and subsequent surveys. The name is an acronym of the
United States Antarctic Research Program
The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...
(USARP), and was applied by
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in recognition of the accomplishments of that program in Antarctica.
[
A detailed account of the Victoria Land Traverse appears in the Geological Society of Americas SPECIAL PAPER 488, dated 2012.
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List of mountains
* Emlen Peaks
A group of scattered peaks and nunataks, 16 mi long and 7 mi wide, lying 6 mi south of Daniels Range
The Daniels Range is a principal mountain range of the Usarp Mountains, about 80 km (50 mi) long and 16 km (10 mi) wide, bounded to the north by Harlin Glacier and to the south by Gressitt Glacier. The range was mapped by USG ...
in the south end of the Usarp Mountains. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-63. Named by US-ACAN after John T. Emlen, biologist, University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, program leader who made penguin navigational studies on the Ross Ice Shelf, the interior of Victoria Land
Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. I ...
, and elsewhere in Antarctica, 1962-63.
* Helliwell Hills
A group of rocky hills and low mountains about 18 mi long and 9 mi wide. The hills lie south of Gressitt Glacier and midway between Emlen Peaks and the Morozumi Range
The Morozumi Range () is a mountain range in the Usarp Mountains of North Victoria Land, Antarctica.
It extends northwest–southeast for , with its northern elevations overlooking the convergence of Gressitt Glacier and Rennick Glacier.
Early e ...
. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-63. Named by US-ACAN for Robert A. Helliwell of Stanford University, Program Director for the USARP study of very low frequency (VLF) radio noise phenomena.
* Mount Shields –
A mountain at the junction of the Pryor and Robilliard Glaciers, at the north end of the Usarp Mountains. Named by US-ACAN for Staff Sergeant James K. Shields, United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC), assigned to U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6
Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6 or AIRDEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, "puckered penguins") was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent River ...
in Antarctica, 1962–63 and 1963-64. During 1962, Shields served as navigator on aircraft in support of the USGS Topo West survey of this area.
* Ship Nunatak
A very striking nunatak which rises above the ice near the center of the upper portion of Harlin Glacier
Harlin Glacier () is a broad sweeping glacier that descends from the Antarctic polar plateau in the vicinity of Mount Nero on the northwest side of the Daniels Range, Victoria Land. It flows northeast between the Sample Nunataks and the north end ...
. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
air photos, 1960-63. A descriptive name applied by US-ACAN because of the appearance of the feature, resembling that of a ship at sea.
* Mount Simmonds –
A mountain standing higher and next westward of Mount Theaker along the north side of Robilliard Glacier. Surveyed in 1962-63 by USGS and in 1963-64 by New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Features named by the expeditions 1957 ...
(NZGSAE). Named by New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee (NZ-APC) is an adjudicating committee established to authorize the naming of features in the Ross Dependency on the Antarctic continent. It is composed of the members of the New Zealand Geographic Board p ...
(NZ-APC) for G.A.E. Simmonds, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
cartographer engaged in preparing final drawings of Antarctic maps, 1961-67.
* Mount Theaker –
A mountain along the north wall of Robilliard Glacier, 3 mi NE of Mount Simmonds. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Paul R. Theaker, USARP biologist at McMurdo Station, 1967-68.
Additional mountains include Welcome Mountain
Welcome Mountain () is a very prominent mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in ha ...
, Mount Van der Hoeven, Mount Weihaupt, Mount Stuart
Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stuart is the highest peak in the Stuart Range, a ...
, Mount Lorius, Smith Bench, Mount Roberts, Daniels Range
The Daniels Range is a principal mountain range of the Usarp Mountains, about 80 km (50 mi) long and 16 km (10 mi) wide, bounded to the north by Harlin Glacier and to the south by Gressitt Glacier. The range was mapped by USG ...
, and Morozumi Range
The Morozumi Range () is a mountain range in the Usarp Mountains of North Victoria Land, Antarctica.
It extends northwest–southeast for , with its northern elevations overlooking the convergence of Gressitt Glacier and Rennick Glacier.
Early e ...
.
List of geological features
* Armstrong Platform
A mainly ice-covered height, or small plateau, which is a northeastward extension of Pomerantz Tableland. The feature is 5 mi long and ranges from 1,200 to 1,800 m in elevation and rises directly north of Helfferich Glacier. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Richard L. Armstrong, USARP geologist at McMurdo Station, 1967-68.
* Helfferich Glacier
A glacier about 8 mi long which drains the east slopes of Pomerantz Tableland southward of Armstrong Platform. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Merritt R. Helfferich, USARP worker in the field of ionospheric physics at South Pole Station
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
, 1967-68.
* Pomerantz Tableland
A high (2,290 m) ice-covered tableland about 10 mi long, standing 15 mi NW of Daniels Range. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Martin A. Pomerantz, Director of the Barthol Research Foundation and Chairman of the U.S. Committee for the International Year of the Quiet Sun, who carried on cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
studies in the McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole.
Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...
area, 1959–60 and 1960-61. MacPherson Peak is on the northwest end of Pomerantz Tableland.
* Robilliard Glacier
A valley glacier, 17 mi long, which flows northeastward through the mountain range. It rises southward of Mount Simmonds and emerges from the mountains at Mount Shields, where it joins Kooperatsiya Ice Piedmont. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-62. Named by US-ACAN for Gordon Robilliard, USARP biologist at McMurdo Station in 1967-68 and 1968-69.
See also
* Fisher Spur Fisher Spur () is a rugged rock spur jutting northward from the west flank of the Daniels Range immediately north of Mount Nero, in the Usarp Mountains of Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy a ...
* Guenter Bluff
* List of Ultras of Antarctica
* List of glaciers in the Antarctic
* Glaciology
Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice.
Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, c ...
References
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Geography, Earth sciences, Weather
Mountain ranges of Victoria Land
Oates Land
Pennell Coast